Pump rod adjusting device



Dec. 2, 1958 J. R. L. CARL PUMP ROD ADJUSTING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Oct. 11, 1957 Fig.

INVENTOR John Robert Lee Carl I ATTORNEYS Dec. 2, 1958 J. R. 1.. CARLPUMP ROD ADJUSTING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 11, 1957 Fig.5

.INVENTOR John Robe/f Lee Carl alum Fig. 6

ATTORNEYS United States Paten PUMP ROD ADJUSTING DEVICE John Robert LeeCarl, Corsicana, Tex., 'assignor of onethird to Newman C. Thornton,Mexia, and one-third to Percy Ledwell, Corsicana, Tex.

Application October 11, 1957, Serial No. 689,548 6 Claims. c1. 74-10srods may be readily varied withminimum effort and with minimum danger ofdamaging the equipment or injuring the operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved adjustingdevice for Well pump rods which is so constructed that it may be readilymounted on and removed from the polished rod of a well pump whereby thedevice may be used on a plurality of Well pumps and need not bepermanently mounted.

A further object of the invention is to provide an 'im proved pumprod'adjusting device having means for c011 nection with the crossheadwhich suspends the polished rod from the walking beam of a pumping unitand means for connection with the polished rod together'with means formoving the device toward and away from the crosshead to vary the pointof connection of said crosshead to said rod and thereby increase ordecrease the eifective length of said rod. 7

A particular object of the invention is to provide an improved pump rodadjusting device, of the character described, which includes anauxiliary-member adapted to be suspended from the crosshead of thepumping unit by adjustable elements and having means for adjusting thelength of the elements to move the auxiliary member relative to saidcrosshead.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafterdescribed, together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is an end elevational view of a portion of well pumping unithaving mounted on its polished rod an adjusting device constructed inaccordance with the invention,

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the unit,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the device showing its connection to therod and crosshead of the unit,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, perspective view of one of the adjustableelements of the device,

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the mounteddevice, and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal, cross-sectional view, taken on the line 66 ofFig. 5.

In the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a portion of a conventionalwell pumping unit which includes a pivotally mounted Walking beam 11having a horsehead 12 on one of its ends. A bridle 13, of the usualconstruction, is secured to the horsehead 12 for flexibly suspending ahanger bar or crosshead 14 which is adapted to support the usual stringof pump rods. Only the uppermost or polished rod 15 is shown and extendsA 2,862,394 Patented Dec. 2, 1958 through the crosshead 14, being'adjustably connected thereto by an overlying clamp 16. As is wellknown, due to this arrangemenhthe rod is reciprocated by the rocking ofthe beam 12 with minimum bending of'said rod. It is frequently necessaryto adjust the eifective length or stroke of the pump rods and this is adiflicult and dangerous task since it' is necessary to support theWeight of said rods during such adjustment. It is desirable to adjustthe length without stopping operation'of the pumping unit in order toconserve time and because of the elongation of the rods under load. Inmost'instances, the length isincreased so that the pump plunger Theadjusting device includes an auxiliary crosshead or member '17 in theform of a horizontal rectangular block, of greater length than width,having an underlying,

' complementary plate 18 secured thereto by recessed is substantiallyT-shaped (Fig. 4),.

screws 19. An'upright slot orgroove 20 is formed in one side of themember'medially 'of its ends for receiving the polished rod 15 '(Figs.3, 5 and 6). For receiving a pairof hanger elements 21, a pair ofupright cylindrical bores or openings 22 extend through the'block andplate on eachside'of the slot 20. Each element '21 includes ascrew-threaded rod or stem "23 having anelon'gate'd, horizontal head 24on'its'u'pp'er'en'd whereby theele'ment An arcuate recess I 25 is formedintheunderside of one e'ndlportion of the head 24- to provide a hook 26and a horizontal 'opening 27 extends transversely through the other end.portion'of' said head for pivotal'connection with the end link 'of achain 28. As shownjmost clearly, in'Figs. :3 and .5 "the chains 28 areadapted to beflp'ass'ed over the crosshead 14 and engagedwith'thehooks26to connect the hanger elements to said crosshead.

The threads'of'the hanger elements 211are relatively coarse or of theworm type and mesh'with theiconiplementar --screwthreaae 1-bbres'29 ofa' pair of "pinions 30 which are mounted in recesses 31 formed in thecontiguous surfaces of the block 17 and plate 18 (Fig. 6). Suitablebearings 32 overlie the pinions 30 to facilitate rotation thereof andreciprocal movement of the member relative to the hanger elements 21(Fig. 5). For imparting rotation to the pinions, cylindrical shaft 33extends through a complementary, horizontal bore or opening 34 whichextends longitudinally of the member between its block and plate withthe recesses 31. The shaft 33 has worm teeth 35 for meshing with thepinions and is of greater length than the bore 34 so as to project fromeach end thereof. A reduced, polygonal or square pin 36 is formed oneach end of the shaft for engagement by a suitable tool, such as thecrank 37 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6. The medial portion of the boreand shaft between the recesses 31 and worm teeth 35 are reduced indiameter as shown by the numeral 38 to prevent endwise displacement ofsaid shaft. A clamp 39, similar to the clamp 16 and including a pair ofcomplementary sections 40 connected by suitable bolts and nuts 41 isadapted to be fastened to the polished rod 15 in overlying relation tothe block 17 when the chains 28 are engaged with the crosshead 14.

The adjusting device is readily mounted on the polished rod 15 wheneverdesired by engaging the chains around the crosshead and positioning saidrod within the slot 20. In order to shorten the effective length of therod, the free end links of the chains 28 arerconnected to the hooks 26of the head 24 and the shaft 33 rotated so as to position the block 17and plate 18 of the member adjacent ately above the block. Upon reverserotation of the shaft, the pinions 30 are driven so as to travelupwardly of the stems and raise the block andplate. Due to the clamp 39,the rod is lifted relative to the crosshead 14 so as'to position theclamp 16 in spaced relation thereto. It is noted that during thisrelative movement, the adjusting device functions as an auxiliarycrosshead whereby theclamp 16 may be loosened as soon as the weight ofthe pump rods is supported by said device. After the effective length ofthe rod has been decreased sufiiciently, the clamp 16 is tightened intoengagement with said rod immediately above the crosshead whereby theweight of the rod is again supported by said crosshead and clamp. Ifdesired, the adjusting device may now be removed or left mounted on therod for future adjustments.

In order to increase the effective length of the rod, the shaft 33 isrotated so as to position the member adjacent the upper end of thehanger elements 21. Withthe .chains 28 engaged around the crosshead, theclamp 39 is tightened to permit loosening of the clamp 16. In order tofacilitate loosening of the clamp, the rod may be lifted by upwardmovement of the member so as to disengage said clamp from the crosshead.Since the weight of the pump rods is supported by the adjusting deviceupon loosening of the clamp 16, the rod may be lowered relative to thecrosshead by downward movement of the member relative to the hangerelements 21. When the desired length is reached, the clamp 16 istightened to return the load to the crosshead. In most instances, theeffective length of the rod is increased for the pumping or shakingaction and then decreased to its original length.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof andvarious changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in thedetails of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope ofthe appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for adjusting the effective length of the rod of a well pumphaving a beam, a crosshead slidably engaged with the rod and a clampoverlying the crosshead for suspending the rod including a member forslidable engagement with the rod, a clamp for mounting on the rod inoverlying engagement. with the member, means for connecting said memberto the crosshead, and gear means in said member having drivingconnections with the connecting means for reciprocating said member tomove the same toward and away from the crosshead for raising andlowering therod relative to the crosshead.

2. A rod adjusting device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the connectingmeans includes a hanger element extending through and mounted in themember.

3. A rod adjusting device as set forth in claim 2 wherein the connectingmeans includes flexible means for adjustably connecting the hangerelement to the crosshead for suspending the member therefrom.

4. A rod adjusting device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the connectingmeans includes a pair of hanger elements having threaded portionsmounted in and extending through the member, the gear means includingpinions on the threaded portions and a worm shaft meshing with thepinions. a

5. A device for adjusting the effective length of the rod of a well pumphaving a beam, 21 crosshead slidably engaged with the rod and a clampoverlying the crosshead for suspending the rod including a member havingan opening for slidably receiving the rod below the crosshead, a clampfor mounting on the rod in overlying engagement with the member, ahanger element having connection with the crosshead for suspending saidmember therefrom, the hanger element having a threaded stem extendingthrough and mounted in said member, and gear means in the housing havingdriving connection with the threaded stem for reciprocating said memberto move the same relative to said element and toward and away from thecrosshead for raising and lowering the rod relative to the crosshead.

6. A rod adjusting device as set forth in claim 5 wherein the gear meansincludes a pinion on the threaded stern of the hanger element and a wormmeshing with the pinion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES RATENTS

